What is your experience in cooperation with parties in the business world and/or educational providers concerning transnational mobility? What is your best practice?

NETINVET is a European network as a legal entity under the French law of training centers and companies, where mutual trust has been established in order to provide young people with mobility opportunities during their training pathway. It pertains to training programs in the field of international trade, but it is inclined to extend to other training courses within the trade and services sector. The network’s coverage today extends to 11 countries: Belgium, the Czech Republic, France, Germany, Greece, Italy, the Netherlands, Portugal, Romania, Slovenia, and Spain. For each of these countries, competent authorities (Ministries, National Agencies, professional/trade organizations) have been associated to encourage and support the network set-up. The network is composed of some forty training centers (number in growth) and over 150 related companies.

The NETINVET network brings together training centres from 11 countries across the European Union that are keen to develop high quality mobility for learners. Each training centre in the network offers training courses that are compatible with a mobility project, provides learners with elements that facilitate finding host companies for work placements and accommodation solutions, as well as provides recognition of mobility within the qualification framework.

The quality process of NETINVET network is based on 3 pillars:

• Shared references on qualification and training, built on a European scale, as recommended by the European Commission in the area of sustainable development of professionalization.

• A network of volunteer training centres directly involved in the implementation of quality assurance.

• A procedure for preparing, monitoring and evaluating mobility operations based on charters jointly developed, and ensuring transparency and respect for the principles of the network.

The Network still exist in 2013, each year there’s a General Assembly. Members are paying a fee.

As a basis for the network two reference profiles were developed, ECVET proof, as facilitators for mobility in VET.

How did the contact between the parties arise?

 The NETINVET network is the result of the RECOMFOR / COMINTER project Leonardo da Vinci projects which were part of the Lifelong Learning Programme.

What have you achieved more in this cooperation model than without the cooperation?

In a certain way mutual trust was easier to built due to the sustainable character of the network and the management of the steering committee and the fact that a fee has to be paid in order to become a member.

The outline of the NETINVET network is very useful for new networks. NETINVET can be used as a good example for setting up a network that is ECVET proof and facilitates mobility.
The quality approach of the network with the partnership agreement, quality charters and the awarded label is appreciated, motivates (new) members and ensures the overall quality of the network and its aims.

What difficulties did you experience in the cooperation model?

 A network does not guarantee mutual cooperation which means some members were more involved and contributed more than others.

The different education systems of the members are also in some cases a barrier in order to implement and use the full range of the NETINVET ‘products’.

Mostly, the yield for educational providers and students in cooperation with the business world is clear. What was specifically the yield for the business world in this cooperation model?

 

Was there a Memorandum of Understanding or a Partnership agreement signed between the (two) parties?

Within the network a partnership agreement has to be signed by all members.

There are 2 quality charters, one quality charter for the training centers of the network and one for companies. The basic criteria defined are the minimum standards for a training centre / company to
provide a good quality of training and exchanges and guide foreign learners during their mobility period within the NETINVET network.

The network also disposes a label. This NETINVET is awarded upon request to training centers after they have proven their ability to conduct mobility operations in accordance with the network’s quality process. It guarantees high quality to mobility operations to which the center is associated. It is awarded by the steering committee of the association, after a procedure of control and validation of the label items. The label is awarded for a fixed term and interim assessments are planned. The label can be removed from a training center that no longer meets the conditions or who no longer organizes enough mobility operations.